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For the fans of Barbs and The Wet Spot:

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I just recieved the Friday news letter for the Wet Spot and they had some great looking barbs and actually covered some great info on these guys. For those of you who are Barbs fans, and those of you looking for a 'different' fish to stock consider some of the following options *all of the following will be The Wet Spot News Letter*:

"The oldest member of the genus, Dawkinisa filamentosa "Filament Barb", has been in the hobby since the mid 1840's, and was first known as Leuciscus filamentosa. The fish have had many name changes over the years, but their roots in the hobby have never been stronger. These mid-sized barbs will grow to around 4-5" in a tank, and develop exceptional extensions off of the dorsal fin (hence the common name). In their native homeland of India, they prefer lowland coastal floodplains, and can be found in both fresh and brackish waters.
PH: 6-7
Temp: 68-77°
Hardness: 36-228 ppm"

"The Filament Barb is a great looking fish, but when you place it next to Dawkinsia assimilis "Mascara Barb", you may end up considering adding these instead to your tank. What the Filament Barb started out with, the Mascara Barb expands on, with red and blue all over the lips and body of the fish. The pastel-like colors begin when the fish get to be about 2.5", and continue to get more pronounced as the fish mature to their 3.5-5" adult size. The Mascara Barbs seem to be restricted to the Southwest States of Karnataka and Kerela in India. The brilliantly colored fish prefer sluggish water with muddy substrates, but they have been found in another location within Chalakudy inhabiting clear, rocky surroundings, stuck in between gigantic waterfalls.
PH: 6-7
Temp: 68-77°
Hardness: 36-179 ppm"

"Moving onto a lime-green colored variant within the 'filamentosa' complex is the Dawkinisa rohani "Rohan's Tear Spot Barb", a new addition to the hobby, with its introduction in 2010. This is one of my favorite barbs, with its natural habitat restricted to just the southernmost tip of India, in the Kanyakumari District. It's not quite certain what their typical living conditions are, but it's most likely similar to the Filament Barb further north. Rohan's Barb is one of the smaller members within the complex, generally staying around 3.5" in length.
PH: 6-7.5
Temp: 68-77°
Hardness: 36-179 ppm"

The next familiar fish has been wrongly termed in the hobby for a number of years. Dawkinsia tambraparniei "False Arulius Barb" is commonly imported under the name Dawkinsia arulius "Aurlius Barb", but the two fish are not the same. D. tambraparniei (try saying that five times fast!) was originally collected in the Tambraparni River system and was thought to be a form of the true D. aurulius, but this fish appears to be found in the Cauvery drainage. The false Aurulius Barb develops filament extensions off of the dorsal fin that the real one lacks. If the fish are not fully matured, it's easy to confuse the two. However, the true Arulius Barb is rarely imported, and most of what comes in labeled as Aurulius Barbs are farm raised False Aurulius Barbs from Asia. We were lucky enough to receive a wild stock of the "real" Aurulius Barb from India. Both fish are very striking as adults, and usually exhibit an electrifying red to magenta-like color on the body, with three broad black stripes running vertically along the fish. The "false" Aurulius Barb usually outgrows the real one - reaching lengths of almost 6". The true Arulius Barb typically stays around 4-5". Either one of these barbs are sight to see!

"Any of these barbs prefer to be kept in groups, and it's my recommendation that a shoal of at least eight fish be kept in an aquarium to keep them active and healthy. This size group will also limit the male's aggression to among themselves. If you are planning on setting up a tank for any of these than a riverine type biotope is usually the best choice. Large rocks with some Cryptocoryne are all you really need to accommodate these mid-sized fish. This type of setup is not crucial, and the fish make wonderful additions to most community tanks granted there is nothing of smaller size that they may be considered food by the large sized fish.

This one was a bit lengthy, but we had a lot to talk about! I hope you enjoyed the newsletter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Like always, you can find all of these fish in stock and our list at www.wetspottropicalfish.com.

I cut the rest off due to potential advertisement issues with AC. Let me know if you have img issues. My cpu blocks them from me anyway.

I'm glad Sandz posted this because of the bad experiances people have had with Tiger barbs, they think all barbs are fin nippers and don't even realise what a great variety of fish they are missing out on.

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.
Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. -Vince Lombardi
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” ― John WoodenSandy Hook Elementary......Lest We Forget
See my profile for my tanks and what fish I keep